2bust somebody/something (for something)(of the police)to suddenly enter a place and search it or arrest somebodyHe's been busted for drugs.He was busted for drunk driving.The cops busted the place frequently.See related entries:The police

3bust somebody(especially North American English)to make somebody lower in military rank as a punishmentsynonymdemote

Word Originverbmid 18th cent. (originally US, as a noun in the sense ‘an act of bursting or splitting’): variant of burst.Idioms